nanoomi

This past Friday night, several Korean Power Bloggers were invited to hang out with Seoul’s Mayor and grill him with questions. Here’s my take on the event.

A Chosun Ilbo Error and Did the US Predict ‘Kim Jong Il’s Death’?

Korean power-blogger, I’m Peter, wrote a post that criticized the South Korean government for being unaware of what was happening in the North.  In a slightly tongue-in-cheek fashion, I’m Peter noticed how a video game had a better prediction into North Korean politics than the South Korean intelligence agency.  I’m Peter contrasted that “prediction” with an error by the Chosun Ilbo that seemed to point out a serious disconnect in communication between the two Koreas.

Many South Korean netizens have also latched onto the South Korean government’s lack of awareness.  K-tweeps retweeted this Hankyoreh article that described how the announcement caught all the respective government agencies, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Reunification, National Intelligence Agency and even the Blue House (which held a birthday party for the President), totally unaware.

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Before we get into speculation, here is something that every article about North Korea should include:

North Korea still operates concentration camps. There is only one limit on how shocking the scale of the human rights crisis in North Korea is: how much information we have on it. The fact Camp 22 exists, and has done so more or less quietly, is a damning repudiation of whatever lessons we were supposed to have learned in Auschwitz, and on every Human Rights organization in East Asia.

A documentary/presentation about a North Korean refugee who grew up in a North Korean gulag.

Get started at LiNK – Liberty in North Korea

More on North Korean death camps here. Continue Reading

Since the end of World War II, small islets between Korea and Japan have been the site of territorial arguments and friction. Japan calls the islets Takishima while Korea names the region Dokdo. Despite overwhelming evidence that the land is Korean Territory (even Google recognizes this), the one thing that cannot be disputed is the beauty to be captured with a camera when one visits this remote locale.

All images were taken Johanne Miller and you can see more of her awesome photography at http://JohanneMiller.com.

-= WEB SITES =-
The Travel Channel: http://youtube.com/qiranger
The Vlog Channel: http://youtube.com/theqirangervlog
Podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-qiranger-adventures/id451881376

Early Monday morning, many were speculating as to what the “important announcement” from North Korea which was scheduled to take place at noon would be about.

@YonhapNews
N. Korea to make ’special’ broadcast at noon http://bit.ly/sxFKmE

When the announcement came in the form of a television broadcast, it was announced right away that Kim Jong-il had passed away. From the first sentence and while the broadcast continued, a barrage of tweets with news and details of the North Korean leader’s death began.

@YonhapNews
(URGENT) N. Korean leader died of physical fatigue during train ride

@mediadaum
김정일 사망소식에 코스피 폭락(1보) http://durl.me/onm58”

Daum tweeted not long after that the KOSPI was beginning to drop as some investors become worried in wake of the news.

@ozzyzzz
옆자리 남자 주식 때문에 패닉상태. 믿을 수 없는 큰소리로 폭풍통화 중. 북한까지 뛰어갈 기세다

@ozzyzzz tweeted about one investor’s reaction saying, “The guy next to me is in a panic state because of his stock. He’s making a ton of calls in a voice so loud you wouldn’t believe it. He might just end up running straight into North Korea.

Sungkyu Lee @dangun769m
흥미로운 사실은, 해외 유력지들의 온라인판은 김정일 사망 속보를 전하면서도 대표 자료사진은 겹치지 않는다는 것. 타사 방송캡처도 아니라는 것. bit.ly/uGzUH4 #fb

The news made front page headlines all over the world and Sungkyu Lee, noticed that many of the photos that news outlets were using were all different. Something which he found interesting.

OhmyNews_Korea 오마이뉴스
28일 평양에서 김정일 영결식.. 북한 장의위원회 “외국조문단 안 받겠다” bit.ly/vbsXRH

Ohmynews reported that Kim’s funeral would be held on the 28th of December with a day of mourning to follow on the 29th. However, the North Korean funeral committee said that foreign groups would not be allowed to take part on the day of mourning.

As the news began to sink in, many started focusing on North Korea’s reaction and questioning how North Korea will change.

polargom 정대원(JEONG, Dae-won)
김정일 사망으로 인한 최악의 시나리오는 군부 강경파가 김정은을 제끼고 쿠테타를 일으킨 뒤 북경 정부의 인준을 받는 건데 사망 후 2일이 지나도록 액션이 없는 걸로 봐선 미국의 대북지원 카드가 제대로 먹힌 듯. 어쨌든 다행.

@Polargom thought it was lucky that so far the worst case scenario of military forces kicking out Kim Jong-un and initiating a coup d’état had not happened more than two days after his death. He said that he thought this was because they may be drawn by the American aid being offered.

@JUNGHOPARK
김정일 사망으로 모든 이슈가 묻히겠군요. 이런 시기에… 정말 그레이트 북풍이네요.”

Some, like @JUNGHOPARK, worried that the news of Kim’s death would end up overshadowing all other issues, calling this time ‘a great northerly wind’.

When news that South Korean intelligence had no knowledge of his death was revealed, some lost confidence in South Korea’s monitoring of North Korea’s activities.

@PRESSIAN_news
“정말 정부는 김정일 사망 사흘간 몰랐단거냐?” : “북한이 말을 해줘야 아는 우리나라가 더 쇼킹” http://t.co/SQNtNOOM

@PRESSIAN_news tweeted the headline, “Did the government really not know about Kim Jong-il’s death for 3 days? : North Korea having to tell South Korea the news in more shocking.”

PaulKim100
@sonkiza 17일 사망인데 대통령은 일본에… 대체 국정원 정보라인은 뭐하고 있는건지….

@PaulKim100 tweeted, “He died on the 17th and the President is in Japan…What in the world are the National Intelligence Service doing…”
Foreign reporters based in Seoul were also busy relaying information as it came in.

@koreareporter
No one knew about the death of KJI for more than two days. Now speculations are spreading everywhere what might happen.

Some also chimed in with their opinions based on experience and knowledge.

@danielrtudor
All eyes will be on Pyongyang.. but I think we should be looking at China’s reaction #Kimjongil

@polargom
지금 한가지 의문이 남는 건 조선중앙TV의 이춘희 아나운서가 지난 10월 19일 이후 50일 넘게 방송에 나타나지 않다가 오늘 특보에 나왔다는 거.

@polargom raised the interesting point that Chosun Central TV announcer Lee Chunhee was chosen to deliver the news despite not making an appearance since the 19th of October.

@yonhaptweet
中, 김정일 사망 공식 애도 표명(1보): 중국 정부는 19일 북한 김정일 국방위원장의 사망에 “깊은 애도”를 표시한다고 밝혔다고 신화통신이 전했다. ssh@yna…

Later in the day, Yonhap reported that China expressed deep sadness at the news of Kim’s death.

Girls’ Generation are not the only ones who want to bring the boys out.

After a surprise vote was called on Tuesday, a South Korean lawmaker threw a tear-gas grenade inside of legislative chambers to stop the passage of a ratification ongoing free trade agreements with the United States.

Yet the tear gas, thrown at the chairman by Kim Sung-Dong of the opposition party, didn’t exactly block the vote: With the parliament members coughing, the pact was ratified 151 to 7.

According to the Daily Mail, some lawmakers camped out for weeks hoping to block the agreement, which holds an estimated price tag of $90 billion.

My question is, who gets mad enough to grab a tear-gas grenade? (And also, who the heck stores a tear-gas grenade in their office?)

Well, calling an unexpected vote would probably do it – especially if you’re the ruling party that’s afraid of the deal never passing because of next year’s parliamentary elections. So what do you do? That’s right. Block everything.

According to the New York Times:

Opposition legislators rushed in but were too late to prevent their rivals from putting the bill to a vote… Glass doors were shattered as legislative aides from the opposition parties tried to barge in, and security guards formed a human barricade.

And it’s not just the lawmakers trying to get in – it’s the protesters. Some 2,000 demonstrators rallied outside of the National Assembly tried to barge into the building, and water cannons have been used to drive some of them away.

On one side, the trade deal has been formatted in a way to stop South Korea’s dependence on China, grow closer ties to the U.S. and create more jobs. On another, it’s been said to make the country’s farmers less competitive while placing more emphasis on big business.

View the original post at KimchiAZ.

It’s devastatingly delicious and Korean students can’t get enough of it. It’s the Chocopie! And somehow in the process of its delectable history, the dessert has become a threat to North Korea’s economy. Continue Reading

Twitter makes it so much easier to “eavesdrop” on conversations of random strangers, which I do via a list of search terms related to Korean cuisine. For every person who asks a question, many others have the same one bouncing around their minds. Even random comments that don’t ask a question, but should ask a question, sometimes catch my eye.

SylviaKoss tweeted to Steven Chappell, aka thegrammarnazi:

#Soju can be sold in Calif. and New York, but it can only contain 25% alcohol or less. In #Japan and #Korea it contains 45%.

Mr. Chappell replied,

@SylviaKoss Then it’s not Soju. It’s watered-down Soju. #Soju #Japan #Korea

Is that shared soju experience the same in Seoul as it is in LA or NYC? (Leana photo, creative commons license, flickr)

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